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Germany Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg means lightning war and was used by Germany to avoid a long war during World War II. This military tactic was extremely successful and concentrated on using offensive weapons like tanks and planes to drive a breach in the enemies. This would cause shock and confusion from the enemy and allow for the air power to swoop in. German forces could then encircle the opposing troops and force them to surrender. this was used in battles like Poland (1939), Denmark (1940), and Belium (1940). -
Germany's invasion of Poland
The soviet union invaded eastern Poland after accusing them of persecuting ethnic Germans who were living in Poland and accusing Poland of attempting to dismember Germany. Germany launched a surprise attack with more than 2,000 tanks, 900 bombers, and 400 fighter plans. The Polish army also had limited equipment and arms so they would suffer a terrible defeat by Germany. Germany accomplished this by using a lightning war tactic, staging a surprise attack with fast-moving units and air power. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was fought in the air and was between the Royal Air force and the German Luftwaffe. Britain and the Allied forces defeated the Luftwaffe, and prevented an invasion from Germany. This started with the Luftwaffe attacking shipping convays in ports in Britain. then the Luftwaffe planned to destroy the aircraft of the fighter command, they continued to bomb towns in England. After mass bombings in British cities the Luffwaffe was destroyed by the RAF and ended the battle. -
Fall of Paris
Paris fell under German occupation in mid-1940, France suffered a defeat and was occupied by Germany. France failed because of its divided political elite and its lack of military leadership. France signed an armistice with the Germans, and surrendered after the successful German invasion. -
Pearl Harbor
Early on a Sunday morning, pearl harbor was faced with an extreme attack from the Japanese. Pearl Harbor was a naval base near Honolulu and was surprise attacked by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes that managed to destroy almost 20 American naval vessels. Over 2,400 Americans died in the attack and 1,000 were left injured. The next day President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad took place between the Russian forces and Nazi Germany during World War II. This battle was one of the biggest and most gruesome battles of modern warfare. The Nazis wanted resources that the Soviet Union had, so Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa to invade the Soviet Union and capture Moscow. The Germans failed at taking Moscow but continued to attack. Hitler has eventually captured Stalingrad. Almost 2 million troops were killed or injured while fighting. -
Wannsee Conference
The final solution was used as a code for the physical annihilation of Jews, in 1941 Adolf Hitler authorized this mass murder. the Wannsee conference was meant to inform the government ministries and other interested agencies, and to disclose to participants that Hitler had tasked Heydrich. -
Battle of Midway
Japan wanted to remove the threat of the US as a Pacific power. Early morning, Japanese air power damaged the American base midway, but the US carrier forces were hidden and prepared to battle. Over two days, the US troops continued their attacks at Midway and forced the Japanese to retreat. The US gained a victory and stopped Japanese growth by shrinking the Japanese empire. This battle ruined Japan's hopes of neutralizing the United States as a naval power. -
D-Day
The Allied forces of Britain, Canada, and France attacked Germany on the coast of Normandy. Over 150,000 soldiers attacked and gained victory and this became a turning point for WWII in Europe. The first wave of attack had troops jumping out of parachutes, the next wave included planes dropping bombs on German defenses. eventually, the invasion of over 6,000 troops approached Normandy. By June 17th, over 500,000 allied troops had arrived to push Germans out of France. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany attacked through the US lines and the Americans were not prepared for this attack, the Germans were able to break through the line and killed thousands of American troops. English-speaking German spies dropped behind the allied lines, they wore American uniforms and tried to confuse the Americans so they wouldn't know what was going on. Many American soldiers held their ground ad did not want Hitler to take over again. These fighters sealed the fate of Hitler for WWII. -
battle of iwo jima
At the start of the battle, 30,000 US marines landed at Iwo Jima, and the first wave of soldiers was not attacked by the Japanese and assumed they may have been killed by bombs. They were wrong, the Japanese were hidden in tunnels and were waiting for all of the marines to reach shore. The battle went on for days, with the Japanese moving from their bunkers sneaking up on US soldiers when they thought that it was safe. After 36 days, the US secured the island and placed a flag on the mountain. -
Battle of Okinawa
Takin Okinawa would provide allied forces an airbase from which bombers could hit Japan. The battle of Okinawa drug out for three months and had some of the worst kamikaze attacks of the war. Okinawa was secured by American forces and the Allies wound up winning the battle of Okinawa, and today Okinawa is Japanese territory. -
The Potsdam Declaration
The declaration was issued by the US, Great Britain, and China. The soviet union was not satisfied with the lend-lease act by the US because America was no longer sending equipment to them and refused a loan. This defined the terms for Japan's surrender and made dire warnings if the country failed to give weapons. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
During World War II a bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. the explosion killed 80,000 immediately, and thousands more after because of radiation exposure. A few days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and killed about 40,000 people. These bombs burnt about 70% of all buildings in the areas they were dropped and increased the rates of chronic diseases like cancer amongst survivors. -
V-J day
V-J day was victory over Japan Day, it was announced that Japan officially surrendered to the allies and this ended World War II. After the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagaski, Japan had no choice but to surrender since they feared America's technology.